Of Best Friends and Lovers

Exploration

Jason stretched and yawned, sitting up in his rumpled bed. He glanced around the room, before noting the pile of bedding next to his bed. He frowned in sleepy confusion for a moment. Who…? His memory came crashing back with alarming clarity, cutting into the sleepy fuzziness of his brain.

Andy had stayed last night and they’d…oh God! He’d jerked off his best friend! What had he been thinking, climbing into bed with Andy like that? As if summoned by Jason’s thoughts Andy wandered out of Jason’s bathroom, yawning and rubbing his sleep tousled hair. “Morning,” he murmured, and then snuggled back into his blankets. Was he just going to go back to sleep and ignore what they’d done?

“Andy?” he asked the bundle of blankets.

“Hmm?” Andy asked, peeking out from under his blanket. He saw the confused, rather panicked look on Jason’s face and sat up. “Hey man, don’t freak out on me. We didn’t do anything wrong last night.”

“You sure,” Jason murmured. “Because last time I checked you were my best friend. I don’t remember reading anything about mutual masturbation in the friends instruction book.”

Andy smiled lightly at that. “Haven’t you heard that guys do that all of the time at sleepovers? You must have missed that memo.” He sighed and looked up at his friend seriously. “Do you regret it Jason?”

Jason frowned a moment then sighed and shook his head with a little blush. “No…I don’t. It was amazing…it has never felt that good by myself.” He blushed a little brighter and cleared his throat; it was hard to talk about this in the unforgiving, bright morning light. “Maybe…maybe we could do it again sometime?”

Andy relaxed a little and smiled up at his shy friend. “I’d like that too Jason.”

“Andy?” Jason murmured after a moment. “Why do you suppose we are both…you know…gay?”

Andy frowned softly and said, “I honestly don’t know. Maybe it’s the way we grew up together, maybe it’s coincidence, or maybe there is something to the whole Fate thing.”

Jason swallowed and nodded, “Yeah…Fate…I guess so.” He slid out of bed and carefully stepped over Andy’s bedding. He saw Andy watching him in concern, and smiled a little. “I’m going to take a shower. You can sleep more if you want.”

He escaped to the bathroom and closed the door as panic took hold in his belly. What was he doing? He’d been friends with Andy for seven or eight years. What had he been thinking when he asked Andy if they could have a repeat of last night? He didn’t want to lose Andy if things suddenly went sour in this very new relationship. Was it a relationship? Was Andy attracted to him, or was he just being the nice guy he’d always been? Confusion and panic gnawed at his gut.

His head jerked up as Andy knocked. “You okay?” Andy asked against the door. “You’ve been in there for a while.”

How long had he been in here? It hadn’t felt like more then a minute or two. He cleared his throat and called, “I’m okay, just spaced out I guess. I’ll be out soon.” When Andy didn’t respond Jason sighed and stood, letting his boxers slide to the floor. He climbed into the shower and turned the water on, numbly adjusting the water temperature.

A few minutes later, or so it seemed, the water started to cool. He frowned softly and turned the hot water up a bit. “Oh for God’s sake,” he heard Andy mutter as he opened the bathroom door. “Jason! You’ve been in here for a half an hour. What’s with you?”

Jason’s spine stiffened when he saw Andy’s blurry form through the clear curtain. “I don’t know …just spacey today I guess,” he murmured and picked up the shampoo. With a disgusted snort Andy pushed off his boxers and climbed into the shower. “What are you doing?” Jason gasped, blushing furiously.

Andy frowned, “Dude you’re clearly having issues you need to talk about AND you’re using up all the hot water. This way we can work out what’s bothering you and I can get clean at the same time.”

“But…but,” Jason stuttered. He couldn’t help but stare a little as Andy pushed him aside and quickly wetted his hair and skin in the tepid water. Andy was always attractive, but Jason had to admit that, wet, he looked even better. Andy soaped quickly and rubbed shampoo into his hair. When Jason hadn’t moved from his gawking position Andy sighed and turned to soap his friend’s hair too. Jason blushed at the sudden contact with the handsome, naked young man and grabbed up the soap before Andy decided to wash him too. Of course the thought of Andy soaping his body had a less then appropriate effect on his body. He turned away from Andy quickly, hoping to keep his back to Andy for the rest of the unusual shower.

Andy grinned at his friend’s back. Did Jason think Andy couldn’t see his erection? He shook his head and finished rinsing, then pulled Jason back into the water stream. “Now tell me what’s bothering you today,” he murmured as his hands smoothed away soap on Jason’s body.

Jason stiffened and swallowed hard before replying. “What’s bothering me….” He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the sweep of Andy’s big hands. “What if…what if this doesn’t work…this thing starting between us?”

“Why wouldn’t it? It’s been working for, what, seven years now? It’s just getting a little more interesting Jason. Are you worried that we won’t be friends anymore?” Andy asked smoothing his hands down Jason’s chest and belly, resting his chin on the young man’s stiff shoulder. He felt Jason’s stiff nod and sighed. “We’ll always be friends. Don’t worry about that and just let things happen. You’re curious aren’t you and I have the knowledge and the friends to help you figure this thing out. Just relax that let things flow, okay?”

Jason nodded and forced himself to relax into Andy’s gentle strokes, trying to block out the titillating feeling of Andy’s erection pressed into his rear. He knew it was far too soon for that, but it still, both, concerned and excited him. Would it feel good or would it hurt? Surely if men did that together it didn’t hurt. He shivered, unsure if it was from Andy’s patient caresses and the direction of his own thoughts, or the cooling water.

Andy felt the tremors running through Jason’s form and smiled a little. Either Jason was getting cold or he was really responsive. Andy hoped it was the latter. Placing an open mouthed kiss on Jason’s shoulder, he reached down and wrapped his hand around the young man’s straining length. Jason stiffened against him and sucked in a startled, unsure breath. Andy hushed him softly and nibbled at his neck and ear.

Jason felt his bones melting as Andy stroked him relentlessly toward completion. “Andy, please…I’m gonna…ooohhh God…what about you…?” he groaned, feeling the tell-tale tightening in his groin that signaled the coming end.

Andy’s hot breath caressed his ear, a sharp, delicious contrast to the cool water splashing against his chest and belly. “Just enjoy this baby…don’t worry about me,” he murmured sexily in Jason’s ear, grinding his erection into the firm flesh of Jason’s rear.

Jason shuddered, and groaned, his eyes drifting shut at Andy’s silky words. He concentrated on the swirl of fire in his belly and the glorious tighten of his groin as Andy stroked him with unbelievable skill. Never had it felt this wonderful when he touched himself. His breath quickened and his body shook delightfully as he felt the beginnings of his orgasm. Andy laughed softly, sexily, behind him and none too gently nipped at a sensitive place on Jason’s neck. Raw electricity shot down his spine and through his groin. He cried out as his orgasm ripped through his body, and he poured himself hotly into Andy’s fist.

As the last tremor claimed his humming body he sagged into Andy, gasping, wide-eyed. “Oh my God…oh my God…Andy,” he stuttered. “I can’t believe it…it was better than last time…my God how do you do that?”

Andy grinned as he turned Jason around and kissed him lightly. “Practice…and well I figured I would do to you what I like done to me. Seemed like a good place to start.” He reached around Jason and rinsed his hand then shut off the water. “Sorry but the water is a bit too chilly for my tastes.”

“I didn’t really notice,” Jason murmured. He looked down to where Andy’s thick erection poked him lightly in the belly as Andy moved. “Andy…” he blushed lightly. “What about you? What do you want?”

Andy shrugged and said, “It’ll go away. Don’t worry about it.” He opened the curtain and grabbed towels for both of them.

Jason looked at him uncertainly as they dried off and moved back into his room to dress. He dug out some clothes for Andy and they dressed quietly. It wasn’t so much that it was an awkward silence, just an unsure one…at least for Jason it was. Andy just seemed to be giving the confused young man a little space to consider what they’d explored.

After they dressed they hurried to the kitchen in search of breakfast, only to find Jason’s mom putting that last of some pancakes and bacon onto some plates. “Well it’s about time you guys came out. I swear to God the shower ran for a half an hour,” she muttered teasingly.

“It was more like 45 minutes,” Andy murmured with a slight smile. She eyed him and grunted softly in amusement then waved them to the table.

“So what are you two doing today?” she asked after they’d taken a few bites. “I was going to going over to the mall for a while if you two want to join me. They’re having a summer sale that I want to catch. Interested?”

Jason looked over at Andy then shrugged, “Sure, why not? There are a couple of new stores I wanted to check out. You wanna go Andy?” Andy grinned and nodded. Jason grinned back then turned back to his breakfast.

“Fine, we’ll go when the dishes are done,” Jennifer said finishing her juice. “And Andy gets to help me since I have a pretty good feeling that he broke his promise to me.”

Andy looked at her startled, then actually blushed a little and flicked a glance at a confused Jason. “Yes ma’am,” he sighed, his cheeks rather pink. He guessed that they’d been kind of noisy in the shower or something. How embarrassing. Jason seemed to finally catch on and, blushing furiously, he groaned, “Moooommm!” She simply smiled lightly and told Andy to meet her at the sink when he was done eating.

***

Jennifer waved and wandered into a women’s clothing store, leaving the young men to their own devices…probably for the rest of the day. Jason actually regretted their decision to join his mother at the mall. He’d forgotten just how long she could wander through shops. He sighed and smiled at Andy before waving him on towards stores more to their liking.

“Oh man look! It’s that new T-shirt store, Eclectic Designs,” Jason said with a huge grin. He loved finding weird t-shirts. Without thinking he grabbed Andy’s hand and pulled him into the shop, Andy laughing softly at his friend’s excitement. The only thing Jason loved more then odd t-shirts were art supplies and notebooks. Jason continued to pull Andy around the store pointing to different designs he liked, completely unaware he was latched onto his friend’s hand. It was something Jason tended to do when he was excited. It didn’t really bother Andy, but he knew how it looked to others.

Unfortunately a couple of Jr. High kids noticed and started to snicker and whisper. Andy smiled tightly at them and tried to ignore them. He was glad Jason was too involved in his discoveries to notice the obnoxious boys. Andy was used to the whispers and even outright screaming, but Jason wasn’t even comfortable with himself yet. He knew Jason had probably realized a while ago that he preferred men, but he’d never consciously shown another man affection in public before. Andy sincerely hoped this didn’t escalate into anything ugly. When he saw two seniors from their school wander in and approach the giggling boys, he groaned softly and tugged on Jason’s hand. He’d thought the two kids looked a little familiar. There were very clearly related to two of Jefferson High’s biggest goons, Jordan Fletcher and Ron Jackson. Fuck. He tugged on Jason again, trying to quietly get the attention of the young man gripping his hand.

“Hmm?” Jason murmured distractedly.

“Let’s go,” Andy whispered, praying Fletcher and Jackson wouldn’t approach them. They’d cornered him in the locker room before…it was a painful experience that he didn’t care to repeat. Jason frowned softly, turning, and then noticed the two young men. His eyes widened slightly and his eyes flashed to they hands. He quickly dropped Andy’s hand…but not fast enough, considering the presence of the two younger boys.

“Well if it isn’t Brooks and Christensen,” Fletcher growled, grinning maliciously at them as the two approached, little brothers in tow. “Isn’t this adorable.” Jackson chuckled, watching Fletcher and leaned against a shelf, apparently settling in for a long conversation. The clerk at the register was looking at them nervously. She was also from their school and apparently foresaw the coming conflict. Andy gave a mental sigh as she picked up the store phone, all the while eyeing the two big bullies.

“Fletcher…Jackson,” Jason murmured in greeting when the giants simply grinned at them for a few moments. “What can we do for you today?”

Jackson smirked softly, “Just thought we’d come over and congratulate the happy couple. How long have you been together?”

Jason blushed and frowned. “That’s really none of your business,” he murmured.

“Doesn’t matter…we’re making it our business,” Fletcher said. “Can’t have my little brother and his buddies seeing this kind of shit when they just want to buy a new t-shirt,” he said, his tone a conversational one; as if this was the most natural chat in the world. The two boys snickered and nodded.

Andy’s gut twisted, the way it always did when someone tried to tell him that he wasn’t normal; wasn’t just another human being. It wasn’t like being gay was a disease that one caught one day and it twisted your brain…it was just the way he was born…the way he had to and chose to live. He knew he should keep his mouth shut, but couldn’t help but throw their prejudice back in their faces. “What about you and Jackson, Fletcher?” Andy asked softly. When Fletcher’s brows went up in question Andy smiled politely, “You two are practically joined at the hip. When’s the wedding? Are we invited?” Andy did his best not to flitch as Fletcher grabbed him by the collar and yanked him forward with a snarl. He knew he shouldn’t have pushed those buttons, but he just couldn’t help it. Fletcher and Jackson were dicks. He braced himself for what would likely be the beating of his life, public place or no.

“Drop him young man!” a deep voice barked from behind Fletcher. Fletcher growled and half turned, only to drop Andy immediately. Behind him was a mall security officer…a really, really big one. He had to be at least 6’5” and was built like at ox, emphasized by his crossed, beefy arms. Andy and Jason gawked at their savior. “There a problem here gentlemen?” he growled down at the two obnoxious young men, his sharp blue eyes assessing the situation and finding them at fault. Both scowled slightly and shook their heads. “Good, get out and I don’t want to get a call about you again today, understand?” They glared at Andy and Jason, the promised beating apparent, and then nodded. They quickly left the store, dragging their brothers with them.

“Thank you sir,” Jason murmured, swallowing in relief. He had to look way up to meet the man’s eyes.

The heavily muscled man turned his hard gaze on them, his frown softening. “Wanna tell me what happened here?”

“We were just looking at shirts,” Jason said softly, with a shrug.

“And holding hands sir,” Andy finished with an insolent gleam in his eyes.

The big man sighed and smiled a little. “Calm down boy. I’m not here to judge you. Just gotta write the report.”

Andy blushed lightly and flicked his eyes to the floor. “I’m sorry sir. I guess I’m just a little worked up.” Jason reached out and patted Andy on the back. Andy smiled over at him. “Thank you for coming so quickly.”

“Sure thing…it’s my job,” the big man said with a shrug. “Don’t like punks messing with honest shoppers. My name is Rich, Rich Davidson,” he said handing them each his card. “I really am a police officer, just work here Saturdays, so call me if you ever run into trouble like this again.”

Jason and Andy smiled and nodded, giving him their names and thanking him as he left. They thanked the clerk for her quick assistance and left the store, not wanting to draw any more attention there. “I’m sorry,” Jason murmured. “I didn’t realize I’d grabbed you like that.”

“Don’t worry, you do it all the time,” Andy said with a laugh. “Admitting you’re gay hasn’t changed any of your habits. You’ve been doing that for years…only this time you were seen doing it.” Jason looked a little startled, but grinned sheepishly after a moment. “Fletcher and Jackson are just dicks like that. Don’t worry about it Jason.”

Jason nodded and shrugged. “I guess so. I suppose I just never noticed, I mean that I grab people’s hands.” Andy wasn’t going to correct him and say he’d only ever seen Jason do it to him. Jason walked silently for a moment then spotted a good taco place. It’d only been an hour since they ate, but he smiled and moved towards it anyway, Andy following behind, shaking his head. Jason could put away more food then any other guy he knew.

***

That is where Jennifer found them an hour later, looking rather cross. “Nothing! I didn’t find a single thing I wanted to buy. Then I ran into an old friend of mine and guess what he tells me? Rich tells me my son was in a fight in the middle of a t-shirt store.” She slumped down and picked up a cheesy chip from Andy’s tray.

Andy sighed and smiled. “It wasn’t a fight ma’am.”

Jennifer sighed, “I know. I was being dramatic. Rich said some bigger boys were being obnoxious and you two were involved.”

“It was two guys from school. They were just being jerks. Nothing really happened. Mr. Davidson was there,” Jason said with a shrug.

Jennifer blushed lightly and toyed with another chip. “What did you think of him…Rich I mean?”

Jason eyed his mother curiously, not sure he wanted to know where this was going. “He seemed like a nice guy, for the whole two minutes I knew him. Why?”

“Oh I don’t know. We went to college together and all and we’re both single,” she murmured. “He asked me to dinner tonight.”

Andy grinned and Jason laughed. “Why do I feel like you’re asking for permission Mom?”

She shrugged and crumbled the chip. “I don’t want to date guys if it bugs you.”

Andy grinned teasingly, “Why? He dates guys…well he does now.” He dodged chip pieces and laughed.

“I’m serious,” she said laughing. “It’s weird but kind of nice dating again, but you know, if it bothers you I won’t go.”

Jason smiled and reached over to pat her hand. “It’s cool Mom. Come on. Take us home and we’ll help you decide what to wear. Can’t let you go out in something that would give this guy the wrong idea about my mom.”

***